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Rochester Adams' Ethan Emerzian (R) drives the lane as Devin White (10) of Birmingham Groves defends during the OAA White match up played on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at Groves HS. Emerzian had a game high 14 points to lead the Highlanders to a 49-48 win. (Digital First Media photo by Ken Swart)

Birmingham Groves' John Garrett (R) drives past Jake Schuler (14) of Rochester Adams during the OAA White match up played on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at Groves HS. Garrett had a team high 10 points but the Falcons lost to the Highlanders 49-48. (Digital First Media photo by Ken Swart)

Rochester Adams edges Birmingham Groves, 49-48

Rochester Adams' Ethan Emerzian (R) drives the lane as Devin White (10) of Birmingham Groves defends during the OAA White match up played on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at Groves HS. Emerzian had a game high 14 points to lead the Highlanders to a 49-48 win. (Digital First Media photo by Ken Swart)

BIRMINGHAM – The young pup played like the big dog he seems destined to become.

In crunch time, the game belonged to Gunner Walters. More specifically, the final 40 heart-pounding seconds of action.

Rochester Adams’ coldblooded freshman combo guard tied Tuesday’s seesaw OAA White affair on the road versus a pesky Birmingham Groves club with an acrobatic “and-1” and then won it with a free throw at the 2.6 mark of the fourth quarter, as the visiting Highlanders escaped with a 49-48 victory on the boys basketball floor.

Adams (7-2) fell behind 29-22 at the half after Groves (6-4) ended the second quarter on an 8-0 run and an Aaron Forbes 3 to beat the buzzer going into the locker room. Star sophomore point guard Ethan Emerzian’s triple with 1:28 left in the third quarter gave the Highlanders their first lead of the second half, 36-34. His five straight to open the fourth put Adams ahead, 43-37.

Groves’ sophomores Mark Watson (forward) and Jack Woods (guard) got into the mix late and Watson’s transition bucket off a steal and set-up from Woods gave the Falcons the lead back at 46-45 with 2:10 remaining. Falcons forward John Garrett hit two free throws at the 1:08 mark to make it 48-44 home team, but Walters personally seized the game’s momentum on the ensuing possession courtesy of a picture-perfect drive into the lane and finish. The diminutive, yet fearless freshman split the Groves defense and converted a hoop in traffic where he switched hands, took contact and flipped the ball into the basket.

“I saw the lane open up, got by my man and just attacked the rim” he said. “I had to keep my composure and take care of the ball.”

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Birmingham Groves' John Garrett (R) drives past Jake Schuler (14) of Rochester Adams during the OAA White match up played on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at Groves HS. Garrett had a team high 10 points but the Falcons lost to the Highlanders 49-48. (Digital First Media photo by Ken Swart)

By Ken Swart
For Digital First Media

On a rebound scrum in the final seconds down at Adams’ end of the court, Walters was fouled and calmly sank the first end of a two-shot trip to the free throw line. Highlanders’ junior center George Gurraj snared the board on a Walters miss on the back end of the trip to secure the win.

Walters scored all 10 of his points in the second half. He is the son of retired NBA vet Rex Walters, a former assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons. Emerzian fueled the Adams’ offense Friday with a game-high 15 points. Standout Highlanders junior wing Peyton Prieskorn left the game in the first half with an ankle sprain.

“It was a tough, ugly win, we’ll take it though,” Adams head coach Brad Crighton said. “We were flat in the first half, but we adjusted, got our flow back and started moving the ball around better in the third and fourth quarters.”

Garrett netted 12 points for Groves. The Falcons have been without starters Daniel Lee (a preseason Oakland County Top 25 selection) and Eyan Bell for the bulk of the season so far, both sidelined by injuries suffered in the first week of the campaign. Lee and Bell are expected to return soon.

“We’re going to keep fighting, playing without Daniel and Eyan now is going to help us later on in the season because it makes you battle-tested and gets other guys confidence and minutes they might not have had otherwise,” first-year Groves head coach Benny White said.

White returned to the prep ranks this past summer when he accepted the Groves job. The longtime former Detroit King coach had been on the bench at Eastern Michigan University in recent years.